Sensing devices are used in many different applications for sensing a wide variety of different parameters or characteristics. Sensed characteristics can be used to monitor the operation of mechanical, electrical, chemical, and other phenomenon. For example, sensing devices can be capable of sensing such characteristics as temperature, pressure, electric and magnetic fields, gas and vapor concentration, odor, power, audio, and video. Some sensing devices are capable of transmitting signals indicative of sensed characteristics to other devices for processing and monitoring.
In some applications, multiple sensing devices can be used in a sensor network. For example, some sensor networks include sensors capable of simultaneously detecting various characteristics at localized points over a wide area. When taken in aggregate, the information provided by these various sensing devices can be processed and reduced to an actionable result based on the multiple sensed locations. In some implementations, each sensor device within the network can include components to read data from a transduction detector, perform some local processing, and/or send data to a centralized server. At the server, data from various sensor types and sensor locations can be used to produce an actionable result.
Existing sensing devices tend to be large, intrusive and cumbersome. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,192,929 discloses a “smart wall socket” that has outlets into which appliances can be plugged, and the outlet is in turn plugged into a standard wall socket. But this device is too large and too expensive to place in an area where space comes at a premium, nor is suitable for placement in large numbers. In another example, U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0215609 discloses sensors for collecting data and interpreting aggregate data from a network of various sensor types. However, such sensors are also of a relatively large size and often not practical to place in large numbers. In living quarters or office space, for example, numerous such large sensors would be conspicuous and impractical. In other environments, space utility is required to be optimized, as for example in a data center.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,764, a power meter is described that can be plugged into an electrical wall socket, which provides its own socket into which an electrical appliance is inserted. A measured current drawn by the appliance that is plugged into the unit is converted to energy metrics and are displayed on a display screen on the power meter. Another implementation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,041,369, where the measured data is transmitted wirelessly to a centralized server. These approaches make measurements by passing the current through the meter in series with the appliance. It is for this reason that these types of power meters are of a form that plugs into an outlet socket, and provide another separate outlet socket into which the appliance is plugged. However, this approach results in a power meter that is very bulky and is impractical to associate with many appliances, thereby resulting in incomplete information in environments having several appliances. Further, the substantial cost of materials to produce such power meters can be a major concern.
These and other limitations of the prior art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study of the several figures of the drawing.